Dual Elements: Bearers
by RainEStar3
Summary: Equestria, a land of magic and bending, was protected for centuries by the cycle of Avatars, but when the avatar disappeared, two ponies took it upon themselves to defend their home. They were Celestia and Luna, the alicorns sisters. Equestria was restored under the newly-named Princesses' wisdom and guidance... until that fateful night. (Full summary inside, unfortunately)
1. Prologue

**Full Summary**

 _Equestria, a land of magic and bending, was protected for centuries by the cycle of Avatars, but when the avatar disappeared, two ponies took it upon themselves to defend their home. They were Celestia and Luna, the alicorns sisters. Equestria was restored under the newly-named Princesses' wisdom and guidance... until that fateful night._

Sunset Shimmer, student to Princess Celestia, is sent forward in time to stop Nightmare Moon. On her arrival, she meets a noblemare named Twilight Sparkle, and her dragon assistant Spike. With her two new companions, she ventures on a journey to stop Equestria's new queen and free Princess Celestia. As they travel, they learn that they also have to find the answer to a centuries-old question:

What happened to the avatar?

* * *

 _ **A crossover of MLP:Fim and AtLA! Awesome! Who's meeting who first?**_

 **Uh, sorry, but this isn't a crossover of character meets character. This is a crossover of both universes being molded into one.**

 _ **What?**_

 **Yeah, sorry. If you want a generic crossover you might want to move onto the next fanfic.**

 _ **I dunno, maybe it'll be fun to watch the new cast go through the Gaang's adventures.**_

 **-_-' Do you really think I would do something so boring such as copying the plot? This story features its own original plot, with minimal relation to canon.**

 _ **Well, at least the ponies will be fun. I know all of them like the back of my hand!**_

 **Mixed universe, remember? The ponies have different back stories. I tried to keep their personalities as similar as possible, but they aren't exactly the same**

 _ **...**_

 **Yeah, sorry. If you haven't been scared off by attempts of creativity yet, I'll warn you, this story will feature 15 chapters of roughly this length, if not longer. Remember, you've been warned.**

 _ **Not even a theme song either...**_

* * *

 _A Beginner's Guide to Equestria_

 _Chapter 2: A History of the Four Nations_

 _For hundreds of years, four nations have lived together in harmony in a land called Equestria._

 _The first of these is the Earth Kingdom. True to its name, over four-fifths of its inhabitants are Earth Ponies. Being the largest nation in both size and population, the Earth Kingdom is responsible for the majority of Equestria's food, timber, stone, and similar materials. The Earth Kingdom is situated on a large landmass that stretches from east to central Equestria._

 _The second nation is the Fire Empire. The empire is situated on a cluster of islands in the western part of Equestria. This nation was primarily inhabited by Unicorns and Pegasi, and holds the lead for the most industrialized nation. The empire primarily export technology, weapons, and on occasion, soldiers._

 _The third nation of Equestria is more of a community than a real nation. The ponies are called the Air Nomads, and are almost exclusively pegasi. They are by far the smallest nation, and occupy four small islands situated on the four compass points of Equestria. The nomads spend most of their time in meditation and low-intensity pursuits such as gardening. Since the Air Nomads are a primarily self-sustaining community, few outsiders know much about them._

 _The final Equestrian nation is comprised of two halves; they are the Northern and Southern Water Tribes. While both nations share a unicorn majority and pegasi minority, they hold entirely separate ways of life. The Northern Water Tribe is full of intellectuals and scholars, and pride themselves with the largest collection of books in all of Equestria. The ponies of the Southern Water Tribe, on the other hoof, spend their time domesticated animals and training to be warriors. Despite their different cultures, the two Tribes treat each other like sisters._

 _At this point, you might be wondering why the four nations were named as they are. Well here's your answer:_

 _Bending._

 _I'm not talking about bending twigs or your spine. I'm talking about bending elements of nature. Of these there are four: air, water, earth, and fire. Each nation has one type of bending that has been passed down through the generations. As you probably can deduce, the type of bending is directly related to the name of said nation. The Fire Empire is known for its firebenders, the Air Nomads are known for their airbenders, etc._

 _Now, the ability to control a part of nature might sound like a dream come true. However, that ability can serve as both a blessing and a curse._

 _Let's start with the benefits. For pegasi, airbending can give them the ability to reach speeds beyond most of their kind, even to the point of creating sonic booms; waterbending would allow them to manipulate clouds with immaculate control, making weather control a breeze. Similarly, an earth pony with earthbending would be able to shatter boulder twenty times their size with ease. A unicorn with telekinesis and waterbending would be able to create pristine ice statues._

 _Now there is one problem with having bending. As I have explained in the previous chapter, each race of pony has their own type of innate magic. The amount of said magic is determined at birth, and although it can be exercised to its full potential, there is no way to safely increase the amount of magic a pony's body. When a pony is a bender, their bending replaces some of their innate magic. Bending can be exercised to replace a large amount of the magic specific to a pony's race, but cannot replace all of it._

 _Despite this limit, replacing any substantial amount of a pony's magic with an element still can have ill effects. Imagine how difficult a life a pegasi would have if he became a powerful earthbender? The three main jobs for pegasi include: delivery service, weather control, and military. A pegasi that would feel most at home on the ground would have trouble performing the tasks expected for one of their kind._

 _For another example, imagine earth pony becoming a talented firebender. Earth ponies are valued for their ability to perform heavy labor and grow crops. Being able to firebend would be counterproductive for farming, and would only prove useful for demolition crews or becoming some kind of performer._

 _Not only is bending important in determining careers, but also can bar ponies from achieving certain positions. Here are two examples;_

 _By tradition, the Fire Empire can only be ruled by firebenders. So if one of the royal family lacks the ability to firebend, then they immediately lose rights to the throne. It doesn't matter if they are non-benders or simply bend another element; if they can't bend fire, they can't rule. Hence, most Fire Emperors tend to marry other firebenders of notable family lines._

 _Some of the most prestigious advanced schools of magic only accept non-benders into the ranks. This especially common in Northern Water Tribe universities, who find waterbending to be only a creative pursuit for unicorns. These schools only want students who can use their magical abilities to the fullest, and they find that being a bender hampers a student's magical potential._

Sunset Shimmer sighed as she put down her quill. After wiping a stray lock of her mane out of her eyes, she quickly scanned over what she had written. "Ponyfeathers!" she exclaimed in frustration. "I was only supposed to write about history in this chapter! Instead I went from history to bending and magical theory, all in the same chapter! That's not what I wanted!" A teal-colored aura surrounded the parchment as she bunched it up and tossed it aside. "I can't keep messing this up! I need perfection!"

The crumpled piece of paper landed on the cold stone floor a mere couple of hoof-lengths from the plush stool the orange unicorn sat on. Sunset's front hooves were resting on the edge of her large, yellow desk that was decorated by red suns. An assortment of inkwells containing varying levels of ink were scattered erratically around the desk. A pile of clean, high-quality parchments rested in a neat stack where the desk met the wall, while the sheets' utilized brethren lay crumpled and scattered across the room.

The room Sunset Shimmer was currently sitting in was fit for royalty, if you ignored the mess, of course. This was only fitting, since it was one of the palace's best bedrooms. The young mare's bed had many more pillows than nightly occupants. The sheets and drapes of her bed were made of the finest silk. Even the stone the castle was made of was of the highest quality granite, grown on rock farms in the Earth Kingdom, and sealed together by the most professional of earthbenders so no ugly mortar was needed.

Aside from the high quality of materials, the room was also richly colored and designed. Yellow and orange were the dominating colors, as indicated by the yellow bedspread, orange drapes, and yellow desk. However, the color red was frequently used for finishing and trimmings.

As indicated by her cutie mark of a red and yellow sun, Sunset Shimmer was obsessed with the sun. As such, patterns and designs of suns and sunlight were incorporated into almost every part of the room. Even the stone floor was engraved with images of her cutie mark, carved by the most talented masons.

A pair of glass doors on one side of her room led to a large balcony that gave an excellent view of the nearby coast. Having her room in a tower allowed Sunset to have multiple large windows on all sides of her room, which was currently letting in the fading remnants of moonlight. Bookcases filled with scrolls and large volumes lined every bit of available wall space from the floor to the nearest window. A crystal chandelier hung down from the high ceiling, filling the room with soft candlelight.

Despite the elegance of her room, Sunset Shimmer did not spend much time admiring its beauty. Having lived in the palace for the past several years of her life had nullified her initial awe. Now, the only thing that had her attention was the blank sheet of paper that was seated in front of her. The unicorn mare stared at the piece of parchment as she levitated the freshly dipped quill over it. All throughout the night she had been working on this chapter, and she had promised herself since sundown that she wouldn't rest until she had finally gotten it right.

Sunset let the quill drop onto the parchment, which sent a small spray of ink across it. She groaned as she slammed her face into the edge her desk. She could tell that it was nearly dawn by the light that streamed through the windows. Which meant she had spent the entire night up, again.

"Why in Equestria does Celestia want to me to write this pointless book!" she growled as she once again banged her head on the edge of her desk. "There's plenty of books detailing Equestria's advanced society and rich history! But no… she wants me to summarize everything into a book a simple filly could understand! The foals of nobles will be taught all of this anyway, and it's not like peasant folk would actually need to know any of this! This entire project is pointless and an entire waste of my talents! The second Celestia shows her face I'm going to march right up to her and say-"

"Ahem," a polite cough interrupted her.

Sunset's face flushed with shame as she slowly turned around. The doors to the balcony were wide open, and her mentor was standing in the entryway in her full royal attire. The white alicorn was looking at her pupil with disapproval, prompting the unicorn to train her eyes to her mentor's hooves. "Uh... h-hello, Celestia," Sunset Shimmer stammered. "I w-was just, um, a little tired. I mean I am a little tired, and being tired makes me say things I don't really mean and please don't hate me and I'll head straight to bed so I can get back to work-"

"Actually, Sunset, I have another assignment for you," Celestia interrupted.

Sunset Shimmer kept her eyes trained to the ground as she waited for her anticipated punishment. _I don't mind being punished, but please, don't ask me to go make friends with the peasants again!_ she mentally begged. _I'd gladly write needless books than go make "friends" with such worthless ponies._

"Sunset Shimmer!"Celestia said sternly as she lightly stomped her hoof on the floor. "Look at me."

Sunset slowly her raised her eyes to meet Celestia's stern gaze. After another moment or two, Celestia continued. "I am not here to punish you."

A wave of relief passed through Sunset's entire body at the news. It was then that she actually paid close attention to her mentor's appearance. Sunset noticed a strain in her mentor's facial expression. Celestia's eyes were stern-not with disapproval-but with concern. Her lips were locked in a thin line with no hint of her usual polite smile. Even the alicorn's stance lacked its normal state of ease. InsteadCelestia was standing like she couldn't decide whether to run or stand her ground.

As Sunset Shimmer took in her mentor's appearance, her eyes were slowly drawn to the plain leather saddlebag on Celestia's side. "Celestia, are you going on a trip?" Sunset asked hesitantly.

Celestia shook her head. "Actually, it is you will be leaving," she replied. Then she paused to scrutinize her student's appearance. "You spent the entire night up again didn't you?" she said exasperation. "Of all the worst times… I told you needed to break that habit."

Sunset winced at the accusation in her mentor's tone. "You did say you wanted me to finish the book as soon as possible," she meekly said in her defense.

"I said I knew you could get it done quickly, but I also told you to take as much time as you needed," Celestia reminded her. Then the alicorn shook her head. "No 's done is done. What I'm giving you now is an assignment of utmost importance."

Sunset's eyes gleamed with pride. "I gladly accept whatever task you have deemed me worthy to receive!" the young mare declared.

Naturally, Celestia would smile or giggle(?) at her student's antics, but this time she merely tossed her saddlebag to Sunset without the slightest change in her expression. "I need you take a trip using a _very_ important and _rarely_ known spell. Head to the Starswirl the Bearded section and take out the scroll at the top of the bag. Use it immediately and do not stop the spellcasting process unless I, myself, order you to. Understood?"

"Yes!" Sunset replied enthusiastically. "Though, if I might ask-"

"There is no time!" Celestia barked as she glanced outside the window. She turned back to see her student's shell-shocked expression. "I am truly sorry, Sunset," Celestia said remorsefully. "But I cannot help you anymore. Everything else will be made clear to you in time. Now, make haste. Equestria is counting on you."

Without offering further explanation, Celestia galloped back onto the balcony and flew off into the night sky. "Well, it seems she's in a rush to lower the sun," Sunset grumbled as she looked at her mentor's retreating figure. "And what did she mean, Equestria is counting on me? There's no way any spell I could perform could make a difference in Equestria. Maybe if I invented a new spell, sure, but performing spells isn't that mind-blowing."

Then Sunset noticed that Celestia was not heading to the tower where she and Luna ceremonially performed their duties. Instead, she was going to one of the few sections of the castle Sunset was not welcome in. "Why is she going to Luna's sector of the castle?" Sunset wondered aloud. She briefly considered following her mentor to find answers, but Celestia had given her an important assignment, and it would look bad on her if she ditched it for curiosity's sake.

Sunset slowly trotted to Starswirl the Bearded's restricted section of the library, deep in thought about her mentor's strange actions. "I may be tired, but I'm certain that something major was bothering her," she said to herself as she made her way down the stone corridors. "Why would she want me to travel somewhere? Why would I need to use a spell to travel? What does Luna have to do this? I wonder if one of the nations is trying to declare on another? Maybe I need to track down a secret weapon and give it to the princesses before it falls in the wrong hooves!" as

"Weapon?"

Sunset paused in midstep. She had almost missed the Starswirl the Bearded Wing, but the guard's question had caught her attention at the last moment. The pegasus stallion was dressed in the traditional black and dark blue of Luna's night guard, and look he was giving Sunset made her skin crawl. "Uh… nothing," she lied. She cleared her throat and announced, "I need to enter the Starswirl the Bearded Wing."

The guard grunted in response as he unceremoniously unlocked the door and stepped aside to allow the mare to pass. The two ponies shared no exchange even as the guard closed and locked the door behind Sunset Shimmer.

Sunet paused for a moment as her eyes adjusted to the miniscule amount of lighting in the room. A few candles were lit along the walls, but for the most part the place was dark. Scowling, Sunset threw her head in a whiplash fashion, which sent a crescent of flame across the room that lit up all of the candles she could see. Smiling at the new illumination, Sunset opened up her saddlebag and pulled out the first scroll she could find. Unlike most spell scrolls, it had no title at the top. Frowning in confusion, Sunset quickly scanned the scroll's contents. The directions were very clear and broken down into very basic parts, so she didn't think she would have any trouble casting the spell. However, it appeared that it would take her several minutes to complete the spell.

That didn't bother her too much though, since Celestia had said it was an extremely rarely known spell, and it clearly was very complicated. The only thing that bugged her about the spell was that as far as she could gather, the spell worked with temporal mechanics.

"Why would the Princess want me to go to the past?" Sunset wondered as she read the scroll again. "The only time spell in existence can only be once and only lasts a few seconds. There's no way I would need a saddlebag for such a short trip."

Despite her doubts and confusion, Sunset Shimmer followed Celestia's instructions and began casting the spell. Less than minute after she had begun, the sound of an explosion resonated through the castle. Sunset winced, but managed to maintain enough of her focus to keep the spell going. _So it really is a war,_ she thought in realization. _I bet whatever's in my saddlebag is the key to preventing this battle from ever happening._

As a series of explosions rocked the castle, another thought struck her. _But if I stop this from happening, why will I go back into the past to stop this from happening? That's a major part of time theory! I could create a time paradox!_ This frightening revelation almost caused her to lose control of her spell, but she quickly managed regain her focus. _Come on, Sunset, trust in yourself! Trust in Celestia!_ she mentally urged herself. _I just need to finish this spell and worry about everything else afterwards._

However, this was easier said than done. After another minute or two of silence had passed, Sunset was startled by the sound of the doors to the restricted wing flying off their hinges. She had to shut her eyes for a moment to make sure she had the spell stabilized again.

"Well what do we have here?" Sunset heard a mare ask. Sunset cautiously opened her eyes, only to see a dark blue alicorn mare staring at her with a predatory look. The alicorn's mane floated like a cloud and was an even darker shade of blue than the mare's coat. The alicorn also wore a set of armor that covered front of her chest and hooves, and was complete with helmet that covered the top of her head from the tip of her nose to the back of her neck. Despite the armor's elaborate design, it was a simple royal blue all around, save for a sky blue crest in the front. The armored alicorn towered over Sunset Shimmer, standing as tall as Celestia herself. Her eyes were mere vertical slits, and as the mare smiled a pair of sharp fangs jutted out from the corners of her mouth.

"Princess Luna?" Sunset asked hesitantly, recognizing the similarities this alicorn had with one of the two alicorns she knew of. However, she had done enough research in dubious fields to know the answer before it even left her mouth.

The blue mare chuckled darkly. "I am not who you speak of," she replied. "Luna is no more. I am Nightmare Moon, the new queen of Equestria!"

Sunset narrowed her eyes. "You are Luna," she affirmed. "You corrupted yourself with dark and forbidden magic, didn't you?"

At that, Nightmare Moon laughed. "Luna merely freed herself from the bonds Celestia put on her," the alicorn replied. She raised an eyebrow at Sunset's scornful expression. "Don't give me that look; I know you were planning to do the same thing. Little Luna just had the guts to try it first."

"I would never do that!" Sunset protested defensively.

"Oh really?" Nightmare Moon asked with a knowing smile. "Not even _once_ did you consider using forbidden magic to make yourself the most powerful unicorn in Equestria?"

Sunset spared a glance at the scroll in front of her before replying. "I was a little filly at the time," she said in her defense. "I didn't know any better."

"But you did," Nightmare Moon corrected her. "You knew how much you little you would lose to gain that power, but Celestia stopped you from reaching your true potential. Don't worry, even if you were too much of a coward to defy Celestia's wishes, I still wouldn't mind allowing you to share a bit of my glory and power."

"Sorry, but no deal," Sunset replied defiantly as her horn flared with the intensity of her magic. She briefly wondered where the guards were, but had to focus on the situation at hoof. Talking to a corrupted Luna and using a powerful time spell was already starting to drain her both magically and mentally.

"Let me guess, Celestia wanted you to complete a spell to seal me away or something?" Nightmare Moon asked as she looked at the parchment on the floor.

Sunset clenched her teeth tightly, but only continued working on the spell with renewed vigor.

"Do you really think you can defeat me?" Nightmare Moon asked casually. She didn't seem concerned by how much effort Sunset was putting into the spell. "Celestia herself barely lasted a few minutes in a fair fight. It was almost disappointing, destroying her so easily"

That briefly managed to snap Sunset Shimmer out of her concentration. "You did what?" she exclaimed in fury as the magic from her horn flared before dying to a small, flickering glow.

Nightmare Moon laughed. "Oh, don't you worry your little head, my little pony," she said mockingly. "I didn't _kill_ her. I merely ensured she would never be able to interfere with my plans. Besides, instead of worrying about her, you should be worrying about yourself."

Sunset's eyes widened as she realized the implication of those words. _I'm barely halfway done with the spell,_ she realized in muted panic. _If only I had rushed like Celestia told me to!_

"Don't be so concerned," said Nightmare Moon as she waved a hoof dismissively. "I have no reason to kill or banish you. You are not a threat to me, but you could make a very valuable ally."

Despite her fear, Sunset Shimmer's temper had yet to be extinguished. "I'd never work for you," she spat.

"Who said anything about working _for_ somepony?" Nightmare Moon asked with a raised eyebrow. "I want you by side, as my equal."

Nightmare Moon grinned as she saw Sunset's resolve falter, but was surprised when Sunset Shimmer shook her head and said, "Sorry, but I would never turn my back on Princess Celestia. She's been more than a mentor to me ever since my fillyhood, and I could never live with myself if I betrayed her."

To the unicorn's surprise, Nightmare Moon only smirked. "You have good reasons to stay loyal to your former Princess," she said. "However, if you knew everything about her, I don't think you would look at her with the same amount of love and admiration."

"Don't think you can trick me into allying with you so easily," said Sunset Shimmer warningly.

"Trick you?" Nightmare Moon asked in mock indignation. "You think too lowly of me. I only wish to show you the truth."

Sunset took a hesitant step backwards as Nightmare Moon lit up her horn with dark energy. Smoke-like whips lashed out from her mane and created a swirling sphere between the two mares. As the magical tendrils flowed back to the alicorn, Sunset was surprised to see the object they left behind.

"I-it can't be!" Sunset exclaimed as she looked at the mirror in shock. The mirror's frame looked like a purple horseshoe that was pulled almost into the shape of an oval. The frame was studded with with pink gems and had regularly spaced etchings on it. The mirror's base was royal blue in color, and was decorated by dark blue horseshoes at the base. A smaller mirror with the same horseshoe design as the other stood on top of a royal blue pedestal atop the original. Dark purple swirls curled around the sides of both mirrors like decorative ivy.

"The Crystal Mirror? Why, yes it is," Nightmare Moon replied with a snarky grin. "I trust that you know the legend about it?"

"Whatever a pony sees in the mirror is a vision about the future," said Sunset breathlessly. By now the glow in Sunset's horn had dimmed to a small shower of sparks.

Nightmare Moon smirked. While she was disappointed that Sunset had not stopped the spell completely, she knew it was only a matter of time before the unicorn's loyalty to Celestia would crumple away. "Well, don't just stand there," the alicorn prodded. "Go to it, and see what your future holds."

"You're trying to trick me," Sunset said weakly as she trained her eyes on the spell scroll and tried to ignore the mirror.

"You know that I'm not," the alicorn replied simply. "Now, go and look."

Sunset tensed, but obediently started towards the mirror. She made her steps small, and made sure to prevent the spell from dying out. When she reached the mirror, she hesitated a moment, keeping her eyes to the floor. Slowly, however, her curiosity outweighed her fear. Steeling up her nerves, she finally looked up to face the mirror.

She was immediately disappointed to only see her reflection. Nothing looked out of the ordinary. Her mane and tail were messy blobs of red and yellow thanks to her all-nighter. There were small bags under light blue eyes, and her orange coat was ungroomed. "This mirror is a fake!" she exclaimed in frustration. "I only see-" She stopped short with a gasp when the image in the mirror began to change. Sunset's reflection rippled and warped like the mirror was made of stirred water, until the image settled. However, it no longer displayed the reflection of grungy young unicorn mare. Sunset gaped at the image of a tall orange mare with a mane and tail that flickered and blazed like real flames. A long horn protruded from her red and yellow mane, and a pair of large wings was pinned to her sides.

"Like what you see?" Nightmare Moon asked with a knowing smirk. The look on Sunset's face was more than enough if an answer. "Celestia knew of this a very, very long time ago. Why else do you think she would take you as her apprentice? There is a very difficult and powerful spell that could turn you into an alicorn, but it requires an avatar or current alicorn to sacrifice a fraction of their life force. Celestia could have turned you into an alicorn at any time, but she feared that giving away any amount of her or Luna's life force could be dangerous for them. One wrong move, and the donor could accidentally kill themselves by giving away all of their life force.

Sunset shook herself out of her stupor. "Why are you telling me this?" she asked. "Don't expect me to believe that _you_ are willing to risk dying so I can become an alicorn."

"I'll take my chances," Nightmare Moon replied. "After all, I've calculated the risks and made sure to study the spell thoroughly to ensure that the procedure will be a success."

"But why?" Sunset asked. "Why would you do anything for me?"

"Because Equestria needs a diarchy," Nightmare Moon replied. "Just think about it, Queen Sunset Shimmer! Bringer of the sun!Co-ruler of Equestria!An alicorn of unimaginable power and authority!"

"But how do I know you're not going to drain away me instead?"

"The spell can only be used to drain from beings of extremely high power and magic," Nightmare Moon replied. "You may be a talented unicorn, but you fall far from the spell's requirements. If you do not believe me, I will allow you to take a look at the spell before I use it on you. What do you say?"

Sunset Shimmer hesitated before replying. "You do make a good offer," she admitted. "But if I would be ruling with you, what will happen to Celestia?"

"She will remain locked up somewhere where she would not be able to give useless riddles and cause trouble to us," Nightmare Moon replied with a growl. "I have no desire to kill her, but she cannot be allowed to roam free. Banishment and imprisonment was the only available option."

Sunset Shimmer tore her eyes from the alicorn's face glanced around the room, peeking at the scroll as she did so. "So…" she began slowly. "What exactly would change in Equestria?"

"Nothing much, really," Nightmare Moon replied. "The night would be an hour or two longer so ponies could have more time to enjoy it, but I have no desire to make major changes. Celestia may have been an annoying power player, but she did know how to make a stable government."

Sunset was silent for a few moments. Nightmare Moon chuckled. "Are you finally done with your game of stalling?" The alicorn asked with a sneer.

Sunset's horn sparked guiltily. "How did you know?" she asked, not even bothering to play dumb.

"It was clear that you cast a horn dimming spell and disguised it as a simple flare of rage," Nightmare Moon replied, smirking as she delivered her explanation. "While I would be impressed by your wit and ability if you were any other unicorn, I only expected as much from Celestia's prized pupil. She taught you well, didn't she? Now, what exactly did she want you to do? I have never seen a spell that would take so long to cast."

Sunset bit back a remark as the alicorn's mane stretched and wrapped around the scroll. Nightmare Moon read through it quickly, eyes widened as she did so. "Do you know what this is?" The alicorn asked. "No, you wouldn't be foalish enough to use the spell if you did. How about I add a title to it for you? All spell scrolls need a title after all." Nightmare Moon took out a quill and inkwell from a nearby desk and casually scribbled down a few words at the top of the scroll. As she did so, Sunset dropped the horn-dimming spell and instead focused on completing the original spell from memory as quickly as she could. The young mare didn't understand why the alicorn wasn't stopping her from using the spell, but she didn't want to wait patiently until Nightmare Moon finally took action.

"There!" The blue mare declared as she carefully replaced the inkwell and quill. "Now, take a look."

Obeying only to continue stalling for time, Sunset cast her eyes on the freshly written words at the top of the scroll. Her eyes immediately threatened to pop out of their sockets. Written at the top of the scroll were the words: _Sealed with Time_.

Sunset quickly pieced everything together. The saddlebag she was given, her mentors cryptic final words, it was all spelling something she did not want to believe. "No, no," said Sunset as she began to lose focus on her spell. "This can't be right."

"I have been honest with you this entire time," said Nightmare Moon. "Much unlike 've also had to wade through her tests and riddles haven't you? She never gives you a straight answer! She never tells you what's really going on! She never allows you to prove yourself! Even now she had you use a spell that would seal you in time. The only trigger to free you is my defeat. She wanted you to be safely tucked away in the vacuum of time until our battle was all over. However, I won my fight before you could even finish casting the spell, making her plans worthless. If you use that spell now, you will be forever lost in the vacuum of time until I die of old age in the next couple of centuries.

"However, it does not have to be that way. Cease this foalishness. You cannot fight me. No can oppose me. After I swiftly defeated Celestia, I cast a protective bubble around the entire castle and its grounds. My night guard has already claimed the castle for me, and once I am done here the rest of Canterlot will soon follow. Equestria will soon be mine!

Do you not recall the saying? If you cannot beat them, join them. Why should you blindly follow the orders of your former Princess and sentence yourself to a fate almost as bad as death? Instead, you can rule alongside me and gain an extension of a wonderful life in the process?"

Sweat dripped from Sunset's brow as she tried to balance her conflicted emotions while maintaining the spell. Thankfully, the scroll was back in front of her, but she knew her time was short. After a few seconds of deliberation, she narrowed her eyes. "I already told you that Celestia was more than a mentor to me. She took me out of that orphanage and raised me like I was her own. She was the only family I had. The other orphans bullied me because I was a late bloomer, my old headmistress was incompetent, and even when I made it to the castle I still couldn't make any friends. You especially never cared for me, Luna."

Smoke puffed from Nightmare Moon's nostrils. "Do not call me by that name!" she warned.

Sunset Shimmer knew she was treading on thin ice, but she was tired, hungry, and on a furious roll. "When I first arrived at the castle I noticed how you looked at me. You hated me the moment you set your eyes on me. You only saw me as a miniature version of Celestia. And you know what?" Sunset Shimmer smiled even as her eyes burned with rage. "That was a very astute observation of you. She is my ultimate role model. She's the kind of mare I want to be when I grow up. She means more to me than anything you could offer! I would never betray Celestia! I would never ally with you! And I will _never, ever forgive you for ripping her from me_!"

Nightmare Moon roared and slammed her forehooves into the ground, creating a small earthquake that knocked Sunset Shimmer off her hooves. "You could have simply rejected my offer and I would've let you go free," the blue alicorn hissed furiously as her mane began expand across the room. "But you have insulted me beyond your position! I cannot let this grievous offense go unpunished!"

Sunset Shimmer desperately tried to finish the spell, but she knew that it would take at least another minute to complete it given her level of. There was no way she could fight off Nightmare Moon without dropping the spell. Now that she had foalishly infuriated the powerful mare, she was doomed no matter what she did. Sunset Shimmer poured as much magic into the spell as she could as Nightmare Moon readied a spell of her own.

Nightmare Moon gave a cruel smirk as she pointed her blazing her horn at defenseless unicorn. "Prepare to die, my little-AH!" The blast thankfully missed Sunset Shimmer by several hoof-lengths and instead blasted a hole in one of the back walls.

Sunset blinked furiously as sunlight began to fill the room. Although she was surprised, she didn't falter. Instead, she began pulling energy from the sun's rays.

The distraction had blinded Nightmare Moon, but it didn't take her long to recover. "Impossible!" she exclaimed. "Celestia could not possibly raise the sun! She's powerless!" But she could not deny the evidence in from of her. The sun was gently brushing on the horizon, bathing the room in a brilliant sunrise. The alicorn turned back to Sunset Shimmer, who was surrounded by shimmering magical auras that wafted from the beams of sunlight. "No!" Nightmare Moon shouted as she flung her mane and tail at Sunset Shimmer as the unicorn slowly rose from the ground.

But just before her attack reached the unicorn, Sunset disappeared in a blinding flash of light, leaving behind nothing except the spell scroll and an image of her cutie marked carved out of ash.

* * *

Lady Twilight Sparkle was a young unicorn noblemare from the House of Star, one of the respected houses of nobility in Equestria. Despite her high social standing, however, she did not spend her time in investments, politics, or parties. Instead, she spent most of her time in her house looking into books, learning new spells, and observing the heavens. She was only nineteen years of age, but she had already published several academic papers that had catapulted her into the spotlight of the scientific world.

While naturally Twilight would like nothing more than some low intensity research and experimentation, today was a special occasion. Today, she was going to make history. Today, she would be attempting to use a spell that nopony in history had ever been able to cast successfully, if they had been able to learn the spell at all.

Today, she was going to cast a spell that would free the Banished Sun Princess.

"Twilight, you're not really considering this are you? I mean, if one of the Queen's spies finds out then you could be in serious trouble!"

"Relax, Spike," said Twilight dismissively as she cleared away some clutter from the floor of her library. "My family's house has never had trouble with The Queen before. There's no way she would spy on us." When she saw that Spike was still looking shaking like a leaf, she added, "I also took the necessary safety precautions to ensure no one could spy on us. Soundproof spells, intruder restriction and alert spells, anti-stealth enchantments, the works."

"But if someone notices-"

"I also cast attention diversion and cloaking enchantments on top of everything to make sure no one would notice," she interrupted him. "Relax, Spike. I know what I'm doing."

Spike sighed, knowing he had lost this argument. "If you say so, Twilight," the baby dragon replied as he made himself comfortable on a stack of books.

Twilight levitated an old book towards her. The book was a dull blueish-grey color, though it may have been brighter shade in its earlier years. Each corner of the hardbound cover was covered with golden plating. There were no marking on the front or back cover; and in small letters, its title was written in Old Equestrian. The unicorn skimmed through the book until she found the page she wanted. "Alright, it says here that first I need to have a personal item of the one I'm summoning in front of me." She turned back to her assistant. "Spike, where did I put that other book? The brown one?"

"You left it on your pillow last night," Spike deadpanned. "Luckily, I made sure to bring it with me!" He stretched out one of his stubby arms to grab the mentioned book from the stack behind him.

"Thanks, Spike," said Twilight as she levitated the book towards her. "This is exactly what I need. Alright, next part."

"Are you absolutely sure that book is the one you need?" Spike asked warily. "I mean, if you do something wrong there's no telling what could happen."

"Of course I'm sure," Twilight replied. "This book appeared to be a shared journal between the Sun Princess and a close student of hers. I'm not sure about the logic behind it, but Celestia did write in it frequently and it does have her cutie mark on its cover." She pointed a hoof to indicate the red and yellow sun on the thick brown cover. "It's not like any pony in history has shared a cutie mark, especially not one as iconic as the Banished Sun Princess's.

"If you say so, Twilight," said Spike reluctantly.

"Come on, Spike!" Twilight said enthusiastically. "If this works we'll revolutionize all of Equestria!"

"In other words, if this works the Sun Princess will kick The Queen off her throne and return Equestria to what you consider the 'Golden Age'." Spike made air quotes with his claws to emphasize his point.

"Precisely! Just thing of the positive impact we'll have on the world! And of course, we'll be known as revolutionaries!"

"I dunno, Twilight," said Spike hesitantly as he watched Twilight carefully place the book on the floor in front of her. "This still sounds like a bad idea."

Twilight rolled her eyes. "You say that for almost every new spell I try," she reminded him.

"That's because almost every new spell you try blows up in your face or has really bad side effects," he pointed out. "Remember the time you tried to save Manehattan from their parasprite problem?"

"Well… I will confess that may not have been my greatest moment," Twilight admitted. "But don't worry, Spike, I'm sure this one will work without any disasters or accidents. Trust me."

Spike crossed his arms, but didn't offer any verbal protest.

Twilight returned her attention to the grey book in front of her. "Alright, now I need to have a large amount of… essence?" Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Well, she was the Sun Princess after all, so I guess sunlight will have to do. Spike, open the curtains please!"

"You could just use your magic," Spike grumbled under his breath as he marched over to the curtains and pulled the cord to open them up. The library was suddenly filled with early morning rays of light.

"Alright, I have the item and I have the essence, now all I need is the magic." Twilight slammed the book shut and put it aside. "Are you ready, Spike?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," Spike replied as plopped back onto his seat of books.

"Then prepare to be amazed!" Twilight fired up her horn as she began the complex spell. The glow from her horn was as blinding like the noonday sun. Sweat slowly dripped from her brow due to the amount of energy the spell required. Spike's eyes widened as he watched Twilight's body begin to spark with golden energy and rise from the floor. The book also became covered in the strange golden glow and rose in the light of the sun.

 _ **Bang!**_

Spike, Twilight, and the book were all flung back by the powerful and blinding release of magic. Twilight groaned as she rubbed her face with a hoof. "Everypony okay?" she asked.

"This dragon sure isn't," Spike grumbled as he crawled out of a pile of books that had fallen onto him. "Did the spell work?"

Twilight gasped, realizing that she had shortly forgotten what she had been attempting in the first place. She glanced towards the place where she had cast her spell, only to be disappointed by the sight of scorch marks on her floor. "Well… no Sun Princesses this time," she said dejectedly as she fired up her horn. "Let's try this again."

* * *

 _ **Bang!**_

"Just… one... more… try..." Twilight gasped as she struggled to get up from the ground.

"No way!" Spike protested. "You already tried it twelve times today. You don't even have the strength to stand! There's no way you could cast that spell again."

Twilight groaned and let her body slump to the floor. "Fine..." she said reluctantly. "But would you mind grabbing me some hayfries? I'm kind of craving them right now."

"I thought hay fries was unhealthy fat food that killed brain cells?"

"I burned out all my brain cells casting that spell over and over again, and fat is essential source of energy," she reminded him. "Do you know-"

"Don't know, and I'm not sticking around to find out," Spike interrupted as he waded through the sea of strewn books and opened the door. "I'll go grab those hayfries, but you need to get some rest. Okay?"

"Do I look like I can do anything besides that?" The mare asked with a raised eyebrow.

"...Good point."

Twilight counted off two minutes after Spike slammed the door before unsteadily rising to her hooves once more. "I'm not giving up until I get that spell to work," she said decisively as she took a step towards the brown book. Whatever preservations spells had been cast on it were truly magnificent. It seemed no worse for the wear since she had received it. "Alright, let me go over what I know. I've cast the spell multiple times during crucial parts of the day. Sunrise, missed it. Early morning, check. Mid-morning, check. High noon, check. Afternoon, check. Evening, check. All I have left is to try sunset. Hopefully this works."

She nudged the book into place with her hooves in order to save every last drop of her magic for the spell. "Work with me," she pleaded with the book as she watched the sun lower on the horizon. She knew Spike wouldn't waste any time getting back to her to prevent her from attempting the spell again, so she had to get it right this time. Otherwise, he would probably write to her mentor to say she had been endangering her health with dangerous spells from forgotten spell books, again.

Twilight waited until the bottom tip of the sun disappeared on the horizon before beginning the spell. Even the early stages of the spell made her horn feel like it was on fire, but she pressed through the pain. Her horn blazed brightly as the spell grew in power, sending waves of pain through Twilight's body. Any normal unicorn would've passed out by now, but Twilight was used to putting this kind of strain on her body and magic. She shut her eyes tight as she felt her body rise off the floor as spell reached its climax.

Unbeknownst to the purple unicorn, small sparkles began flaking from the fading rays of sunlight and swarmed towards the book like bees to flowers. The shower of sparkles grew into a vibrant myriad of shimmering particles that began circled around Twilight and the book in a glittering, magical tornado. Twilight's horn suddenly flared with power and drew in all of the magical particles from the air like a magnet, just as the sun disappeared over the horizon.

* * *

Spike made his way back to Twilight's house as quickly as his little dragon legs could carry him. He believed that Twilight was too weak to complete the spell by now, but knew that there was a good chance that she would attempt to do so any way.

The strangely designed tower they lived in was just within his sights when he saw a large glow coming from the library floor. "Twilight!" Spike exclaimed. He dropped the large container of hayfries he was carrying and dashed over to the library like his life depended on it. However, he was still a good distance away when a rainbow shockwave of the colors purple, pink, red, and yellow, spread out from the inside of the building. The sight of it blinded him, but he didn't falter in his steps as he continued his mad dash to the door.

"Twilight!" Spike called as he flung open the front door. He heard no response as he trotted up a flight of stairs that led to the library of the house.

The inside of the library was worse than he feared. The smell of soot and ash filled the air. Entire bookcases had toppled over, and their contents were ripped and charred. Spike had to carefully dance through the debris before his eyes finally rested on the still form a familiar unicorn.

"Twilight!" he yelled as he ran through the wreckage. When he reached her, he noticed that her sides were gently rising and falling normally. In addition, although he didn't pay much attention to it at the time, Twilight was resting in circle of the floor that had somehow remained unscathed despite the state of the rest of the library. The baby dragon gripped Twilight's face with his claws and shook her head furiously.

"Ow!" Twilight yelped as she suddenly awoke and sent a hoof into Spike's face. "Spike, what was that for?"

Spike gently rubbed his forehead, silently thankful for the protection his dragon scales gave him. "Twilight, take a look around you," he said slowly as he waved a claw to indicate the smoking room.

Twilight's eyes widened as she suddenly noticed the destruction that surrounded her. She slowly turned around in a circle to take in all of the damage she had caused. She forlornly gazed at the books that had been reduced to mere piles of ash. Then she suddenly gasped.

"Yeah, it's that bad," said Spike. "Why did you have to do that, Twilight? You knew you were too tired to do try it again." He sighed and dropped to the ground, sending up a cloud of ash as he did so. "Now our home is ruined!"

"Worth it," Twilight said breathlessly as her eyes widened.

Spike blinked. "Wait, what?" Twilight mutely pointed a hoof at the sight in front of her. Spike followed the indicated direction and jumped. "What in Equestria?" he gasped.

Curled up next to the brown book Twilight had been using for her spell lay a pony that was covered in ash. At the sound of Spike's voice, the pony stood up and shook off the majority of the ash, before giving a very feminine sneeze.

Twilight's look of awe died into disappointment when she realized that the mare in front of her was not the Banished Sun Princess. For one thing, she was much too short, only standing to around Twilight's height. Second, she was only a unicorn. Third, her color scheme was all wrong. This pony had a red and yellow mane, and an orange coat underneath the grey ash that covered her from head to hoof. The Sun Princess was supposed to be a tall, white alicorn with multicolored hair that floated without a breeze. This pony was anything but the one Twilight had tried to summon.

Spike nervously moved behind Twilight as the purple unicorn made her way to her hooves. He could obviously tell that this new mare was no Sun Princess, and he was surprised to find another pony in the room. He wasn't quite sure if the spell had summoned her to the library, but he decided not to take his chances.

The ash-covered mare was staring at the pair in confusion. She first looked at the purple mare, and then at what she believed to be a wingless baby dragon. Except, he didn't look as predatory as the other dragon hatchlings she had seen. She observed the clean circle the pair stood at, and then turned her eyes to the rest of the library. With wide eyes, she barely suppressed a gasp as she surveyed the wreckage. Then, she focused her attention once again on the two unfamiliar faces in front of her.

Finally, the two mares voiced the question that was on everyone's minds.

"Who are you?"

* * *

 **Gr... okay, I have the fully edited version on fimfiction, but this doc still has a few typos. I apologize for not being able to find them.**

 **Too crazy for you? Well, feel free to leave. But before you do, please know this: reviews are food for a writer's soul!**


	2. Chapter 1

**If you're reading this, the Prologue got your attention.**

 **Hopefully I can satisfy your expectations.**

 **Oh, and in case you forgot what happened in the Prologue, here's a brief recap:**

* * *

 _Previously on Dual Elements:_

" _My name is Lady Twilight Sparkle of the House of Star," Twilight introduced herself formally with a polite dip of her head. "And this is Spike, my number one assistant."_

…

" _I am Sunset Shimmer, personal student of Princess Celestia, Bringer of the Sun and Day!"_

…

" _Uh-oh."_

…

" _Now I'm stranded in the wrong period of time!"_

…

" _Couldn't you simply recast the spell?" Twilight suggested._

…

" _No, because the spell is too long and complicated to cast from memory!" Sunset shouted. "It took me several minutes to use it even when I had the scroll in front of me! This means Equestria is doomed to be ruled by Nightmare Moon, forever!"_

…

" _This hereby decrees that the unicorn noblemare, Lady Twilight Sparkle, is no longer considered to be an adult capable of independence and must be accompanied by certified adult at all times. Due to your new status, we, the Local Guard of Manehattan, retain the right evict you from this property at any time._

…

" _So… I guess you're going to get started on your journey."_

" _Yes."_

" _Can we come along?"_

…

" _You called, my Queen?"_

…

" _Yes, I've received reports of magical disturbance near Manehattan. I want you to investigate."_

…

" _It turns out that a certain young noblemare by the name Twilight Sparkle—"_

…

" _I want her to come willingly; otherwise my job will be much harder." Her eyes narrowed. "I am dead serious about this Sombra. You may be a general, but remember that I am your queen. Do not take liberties in this assignment."_

…

 _After over two hundred years, she could once again feel the power of the Avatar._

* * *

"Twilight! Spike! Hurry up! Cele—I mean, that crazy queen of yours already raised the sun several minutes ago!"

"Coming!" Twilight hollered back. She dashed down the flight of stairs from the library with Spike on her back. "I've got my books, scrolls, inkwells, spare blankets, pillows, and enough bits to cover our expenses for a while. Was that everything on the checklist, Spike?"

"Pillow, check. Bits, check. Yup, that everything on your list," Spike replied jovially. "Wow, that's the shortest list I've gone through in weeks! You all packed Sunset?"

"I have all of the food, several bottles of water, and my journal," said Sunset replied with a roll of her eyes.

Spike smiled as he checked the three things off a separate checklist. "New record for shortest list!" he announced. Then he looked at the saddlebags both mares had. Twilight had a moderately sized saddlebag slung on her side, while Sunset carried an identical bag as well as her small saddlebag. Each bag that Sunset carried rested on one of her thighs, concealing her cutie mark from view. "Uh… are you sure you got everything we need?" Spike asked as he scratched his head.

"Duh," Sunset said with a roll of her eyes.

"And we're not going to be on rations right?" Spike asked nervously.

"We have to be prepared to rough it," Sunset informed him, not directly answering his question.

Spike gulped. "Yeah, but we're not going to be, like, starving, are we?" he asked as he rubbed his stomach. "And we're not going to be sleeping on bedsheets, right? You know, the ground can get really, really hard and cold at night, and I'll need a nice, soft blanket to keep me warm and snug."

"Don't worry, Spike," Twilight assured him. "We're not going to sleep on bedsheets and I'm pretty sure we're not going to starve as long as we restock regularly. I used a space enlargement spell to fit everything in my bag." She gently rubbed her horn. "It took a bit of work though."

"Looks like you aren't quite up to my level in enchantments," said Sunset smugly. "I used the same spell without breaking a sweat." She slyly left out that she had drawn power from the sun the previous day to ease the spellcasting process.

The two ponies and their dragon set out on their journey. Sunset hung back and let Spike and Twilight do all the navigating through the outskirts of Manehattan while she took in the scenery. While the area Twilight lived in was modest and friendly, Sunset did not appreciate the city skyline looming nearby. She was relieved when they finally reached the shores of Manehattan, which were much cleaner than she had expected, especially since the rocky terrain made it a less than ideal spot for beachgoers. Last time Sunset had visited this side of Manehattan, the beaches had been littered with trash and shady looking ponies. Now, the beach was clear of stray debris, and the only ponies in sight besides themselves were a young couple who strolling at the water's edge. _I thought Equestria would turn out worse than this under Nightmare Moon's rule,_ Sunset thought. _Maybe the real Luna managed to break through enough to keep Equestria from delving into total chaos._

 _How much of Luna is actually in Nightmare Moon?_ Sunset wondered. She thought back to her independent studies of dark and forbidden magic. _Creatures like Nightmare Moon are born from ponies' negative emotions combining with animation spells or objects that have similar enchantments on them. The magic gives the emotions some form of life, but the creations are never the same as normal ponies. These_ abominations _were sometimes only spectral, and lived inside their creator's body. However, they could have physical bodies that belonged to them alone. This usually results a clone of the pony, sometimes with different mane and tail colors, but sometimes the alternate personas simply… replace the original._

 _Luna was a fool for using such magic,_ Sunset thought angrily. _Now I have to clean up her mess and somehow stop her creation. Not only that, but I have to figure out if Luna still exists in any sense of the word. Celestia will kill me if I simply blast away that wretched Nightmare without extracting crucial information from it. This is so frustrating! There's reason these kinds of things are forbidden and locked away! How could Luna ever think that using forbidden magic was a good idea?_

 _How could I ever think that using forbidden magic was a good idea?_

Sunset let out an audible growl, startling her two companions. She shook her head to assure them that she was fine, and then made sure to keep her thoughts solely on the scenery as they continued walking.

The news of Twilight's change in legal status apparently had not reached the public, since the young noblemare had no trouble securing a ride from a ferrying unicorn mare that they met farther up along the beach. Instead of paying in solid bits like Sunset had expected, Twilight had given the ferrymare a check. Sunset was surprised that Twilight had brought a checkbook with her, but decided not to ask. After all, times had changed drastically in the past hundred years.

Unfortunately for Sunset, the sickening rocking motion of small boats had not.

Sunset heaved once again, sending the contents of her stomach down into the waters below.

"You could have told us you get seasick," said Twilight as she pitifully watched the orange mare. "We could've found another way to travel."

"I forgot," Sunset replied with a groan. "Haven't been in a boat in years."

"You'd think seasickness is one thing you would never forget," Spike commented.

Sunset glared at him, but had to turn back around quickly to empty more of her breakfast into the sea.

* * *

As soon as her stomach was empty, Sunset lied down in the back of the boat to sleep. With the ferrymare rowing in the middle of the boat, Twilight and Spike were forced to wait at the front of the boat for the hour-long ride to end.

Spike sat down on the siddie of the boat, He kicked his legs slowly through the air, and looked down at his rippling reflection in the water. Frowning, he turned his head to look and the sleeping figure of Sunset, and then turned to Twilight. "Twilight, can I ask you something?" he asked.

"Sure you can, Spike," Twilight replied as she took her nose out of the book he was reading. "What is it?"

Spike moved the rest of his body around so he could face Twilight properly. "Well, you see…" Spike scuffed his foot awkwardly against the side of the boat. "It's about Sunset."

"What about her?" Twilight asked.

"Well…" Spike couldn't figure out how to convey what he was feeling properly, so he decided to change his tactic. "Twilight do you trust her?"

Twilight was caught off guard by the question. "Well, I guess so," she replied uncertainly. "What do you mean by that?"

"Did you ever think about the fact that we're going to be traveling around the world with her while she plans to—" he gave the ferrymare a sidelong glance as he whispered, "Overthrow The Queen."

"What's wrong with that?" Twilight asked. "We couldn't stay at home, and staying with Shiny or my parents was out of the question. At least we have something productive to do with our time."

It was times like this that made Spike question Twilight's sanity. "But we did have to do something so dangerous?" Spike whispered worriedly. "Couldn't we have toured the Northern Water Tribe libraries? Or checked out old dragon legends from the Fire Empire? And I know that you've been dying to interview the Air Nomads for years! Any of those would've been better—not to mention safer—than this."

"I-I didn't know you disliked this themy idea so badlystronglythis much," said Twilight in surprise. "Why didn't you say something earlier?"

"Because I don't trust her." Spike indicated with a tilt of his head.

Twilight followed his indication. "The ferrymare?" She asked in confusion. "What does she have to do with anything?"

"No." Spike facepalmed. "Behind her!"

"But that's Sunset."

"Exactly!"

"What's wrong with Sunset?" Twilight asked. "I know she can be a little annoying sometimes—"

"A _little_?"

"Well, alright, she's a jerk," Twilight admitted. "But you went through that phase once too."

"I was teething!" Spike protested as he crossed his arms with a huff. "But that's not the point! The point is I don't think you should trust Sunset as much as you do."

"Why not?" Twilight asked.

"Because she's not trustworthy!" Spike declared.

"But why isn't she trustworthy?" Twilight asked. "Despite her flaws, she seems pretty determined to—" She spared a glance that the ferrymare, who was whistling a tune and staring off into the horizon. "Complete her quest," she finished awkwardly. "I know we wanted to bring you-know-who to do it, but instead we got her. And since she has the same goal as us and we destroyed her—or you-know-who's—initial plan, teaming up with her is the best option I see of us both getting what we want.

"Twilight, I still don't believe Sunset is from the past," Spike said stubbornly.

"But didn't we already explain—"

"I heard the explanation," Spike interrupted. "But it still doesn't make sense to me. How could Sunset's essence be the actual sunset? How do we know that her cutie mark is real and not paint or something? How do we know the spell didn't just backfire? And don't you think that Sunset acts the slightest bit _strange_?"

" _Spike_."

"I'm just saying!" Spike exclaimed. "We just met her and you're acting like she's, well, a friend."

"Spike, you do know that we don't have time or energy to make friends," Twilight replied with a roll of her eyes. "And Sunset made it pretty clear that she thinks the same way. As far as I see it, we're…" She struggled for the right word. "Let's see, traveling companions? Associates? Acquaintances? Ah! We're fellow adventurers on a quest to revolutionize Equestria, just like in those picture books you keep reading."

"Comic books, Twilight. They're called comic books, not picture books."

"Yeah, those," Twilight said distractedly. "Anyway, my point is that I have no reason to not trust Sunset, so I might as well trust her. Don't worry, Spike, I'm not ignoring your advice," she added when she saw his downcast expression. "I just think you're being a little paranoid. Tell you what, if Sunset shows any sign of being less than authentic, we'll head straight to my parents' house; bet or no bet."

"Thanks, Twi," said Spike with a sigh of relief.

"Come here, Spike," said Twilight as she pulled him into a hug. "When did you become the worrywart of the two of us?" she asked him with a smile.

"Do I have to remind you of the number of nobles who want to see you banished to the Badlands?"

* * *

When the trio finally arrived at the "mainland"—which was the common misnomer for the biggest island of the Fire Empire—the three of them paused for a moment to take in the sights. The ferrymare had dropped them by a the coastal city that Twilight and Spike hadn't visited in months, and even then they had only quickly passed through without taking a break for sightseeing. Sunset had seen the city only once, and a lot had changed over the past hundred years.

"Where are we?" Sunset asked Twilight. "I don't remember a city like this around here."

It was Spike who answered instead. "We're in Winniton, one of the mainland's busiest coastal cities. Ponies often stop by here to receive an ocean tour, or to see the fire-dancers, or to simply relax on Winniton's gorgeous coastal beach."

Sunset stared at him with wide eyes. Although she said nothing, it was clear that she was impressed.

"He read it off the sign over there," said Twilight as she indicated a billboard with a hoof. Sunset glared at Spike, who gave a nervous chuckle in response. "This city is over a hundred years old, but it was only a small town in your time," Twilight informed Sunset. "Over the years, the city has flourished because of its strategic location near Manehattan, and it is now one of largest coastal cities of the Fire Empire. However, Winniton also is infamous for one thing. Crime."

As if on cue, Sunset suddenly felt a tug on her saddlebag. With honed reflexes, she turned around threw out a hoof, sending a crescent of flame to her side. The young and ragged green unicorn colt who had attempted to remove her saddlebag galloped away as fast as his short legs could carry him.

Twilight frowned. "That was—" Before Twilight could finish, Sunset sent a stream of flames from her horn past the other unicorn's head. The purple mare ducked and Spike leapt off her back in alarm, but they hadn't needed to bother. The attack whistled by the head of a grey unicorn colt who was several years older than the first one they had seen. The torrent of flames sent him galloping away as well, leaving nearly half of his charred mane behind.

"Was that really necessary?" Twilight scolded Sunset as the orange mare moved on casually. While Sunset's display had turned a few heads, once the ponies realized who she had been targeting they went back to their business. Spike, however, kept a closer eye on Sunset than he had before.

"The little one was going to try to grab my attention by performing a pathetic robbery attempt that a foal would be able to foil," Sunset said calmly. "After failing to snatch my bag, he would sit there blubbering about his dying mother or whatever, while the older one would carefully pry away my smaller saddlebag, since it appears to be my purse. Then the little one would eventually run away crying, and my saddlebag would be in the hooves of his accomplice. It's usually a really effective ploy, or, at least it was in my days. And apparently, it hasn't fallen out of the criminal circles yet. Interesting."

Twilight and Spike gaped.

Sunset shrugged nonchalantly. "You really need to get out more," she said. "Come on, we've got a tiny little village to find."

After bucking away a scrawny earth pony stallion who had tried to cut their bags, and nearly blasting a trio of thieving pegasi fillies out of the sky, Sunset decided to take a more defensive approach to protecting her bags. She focused on absorbing the sun's rays and letting off they heat they brought. The heat Sunset radiated gave prickling discomfort, but wasn't necessarily painful. However, it still did its job of warning thieves that she was not an easy target. Additionally, she no longer had to wade through a crowd of ponies in order to get to the end of the street.

"How are you doing that?" Twilight asked as she trotted up next to Sunset. The heat that radiated from Sunset's body prickled Twilight's skin uncomfortably, but her experiences with raising a baby dragon and having spells blow up in her face allowed her to tolerate it for the time being. Spike, on the other hand, had felt so comfortable in the extra heat that he had settled down for a nap on Twilight's back despite his misgivings of Sunset.

Sunset considered snubbing the other mare, but she couldn't resist a chance to show off. "I'm absorbing the sunlight and converting it into heat," she explained. "Every time I take a step, I'm using a small amount of my firebending to release the heat from my body to the air around me. At least, that's the simplest way to describe it. The actually process is _much_ more complex." The smugness in her words rolled off her voice as thickly as the waves of heat from her body.

"Incredible!" Twilight exclaimed. "How long did it take for you to learn? Who taught you? Did you teach yourself?"

"Slow down," Sunset said with an arrogant smile. "It took me a few days to learn the basics of the technique, but it took many years to master it. Cel—" Sunset paused as she remembered their current surroundings. "My mentor noticed that I could heat up the air around me whenever I got angry, so she taught me this technique so I could use my ability at will."

"Did you get your cutie mark for mastering the technique?" Twilight asked curiously.

Sunset chuckled. "Nah, I got my cutie mark much earlier than that. I'll have to tell you about that one later, when we're away from all of this riffraff."

Suddenly, Twilight frowned. "About those ponies back there—"

"The thieves?" Sunset interrupted.

"Well, yes."

"They deserved it."

"If those three fillies had crashed they could have been seriously hurt," Twilight admonished Sunset. "And that colt, you singed off nearly half of his mane!"

"Half-manes were considered 'in' one-hundred and thirty years ago. It's called bringing back an old style."

"Another inch to the right and you would've hit his eye!"

Sunset stopped and turned to face Twilight directly. "Look, I don't know where you've been living, but everypony knows that gutter thieves are scum. Those bums don't care who you are or where you come from; if you have something they want, they'll take it. The only way to get them off your tail is to show them who's boss." Sunset did not raise her voice or express any anger as she spoke. Rather, she presented everything she said as a fact, and acted as if she was a teacher who was patiently giving her student a lesson.

Twilight was silent for a few moments. "Could you just, I don't know, be a little more careful next time?" she asked hesitantly.

"What constitutes as 'more careful'?"

Twilight groaned. "Just make sure your warning shots don't accidently maim anypony," she said. "Or better yet, make sure your warning shots don't even touch anypony. No more feather searing or mane singeing."

"Fine," Sunset said as she rolled her eyes dramatically. "Whatever helps you sleep at night."

Twilight gave Sunset a half smile. "Thanks."

The two continued to walk in silence through the city streets. The stream of ponies gradual died as they headed inland, away from tourist traps and general activity. They walked through the shadier parts of the city—undisturbed due to Sunset's heat bubble—and then they finally made it out of Winniton. Only then did Sunset let her protective field die out.

Spike woke up with a start at the sudden loss of heat. "What happened?" he asked as he looked around frantically. "Where'd the buildings and ponies go?"

"Nowhere," Sunset replied drily. "We left them behind. Come on, it'll take us a few more hours to reach the backwater town we're headed to."

* * *

"East Steel Town?" Sunset read aloud as the trio passed a sign that welcomed them to the town. "What pony in their right mind would name a town like that?"

Spike shrugged. "Maybe they wanted to compete with West Steel Town," he suggested.

"Wait, there's a town with that name?" Sunset asked incredulously.

Spike shrugged again.

"Can you two please not make fun of the town's name while we're inside?" Twilight whispered furiously. "We don't want to offend the residents!"

"Sorry, Twi," said Spike apologetically.

Sunset snorted. "The pony who is triggering the glow on my map is the only pony that interests me in this place," she stated. "Once I find that pony I'm heading out of this place as fast as my hooves can carry me."

"Forgetting anyone?" Spike asked pointedly.

"You know what I mean."

"I think you might have to rethink your plan," said Twilight.

"Don't tell me you're planning mutiny," said Sunset in exasperation.

"What? No!" Twilight protested. "It's just that, well, first it's going to be hard to find the pony even in a town this small."

"I'll think of some way to streamline the process."

"And what do you plan to do when you find the pony?"

Sunset shrugged. "Well, if the pony is anything like you, then they're bound to make useful traveling companions," she replied.

"But what if the pony doesn't want to come along?"

Sunset came to a halt. "What are you talking about? Who would turn down an offer like that? We're going to be defea—defending Equestria."

"Not all ponies are as interested as I am when it comes to, well, what we're doing," Twilight replied.

"Girls, I think you might want to save this conversation for later," Spike whispered. "Some ponies are starting to stare."

Twilight and Sunset looked around. Unlike in Winniton, ponies here actually paid attention to newcomers; and the conversation the two mares were having was drawing more than a few curious looks. Twilight and Sunset instinctively ducked their heads and fell silent as they continued walking.

Twilight's stomach then announced the group's next major concern. "How about we start searching for the pony after lunch?" she suggested. "It's already at least two in the afternoon."

Spike and Sunset's stomach growled in response. "Good idea," Sunset agreed heartily. "But where would we find something to eat around here?"

"Looking for a bite to eat?" A new voiced asked from above them. The trio looked up to see a blue mare's face mere inches from their own. The mare had a friendly but mischievous smile on her face, and her violet eyes glimmered with amusement. Her mane was short and her tail was long, and both were as colorful as a rainbow. Her wings flapped almost noiselessly to keep her in position above them.

Each of the three travelers had different reactions.

Twilight screamed.

Spike fell from Twilight's back.

Sunset released a spiraling blast of fire from her horn.

The pegasus mare, thankfully, had the agility to dodge the attack even at point blank range. "Chill out!" she exclaimed as she glared at Sunset. "You could have hurt somepony with that! Namely, me!" She examined her colorful mane and tail, and sighed in relief when she found both to be perfectly intact.

"Don't you know better than to sneak up ponies like that?" Sunset said accusingly. Her heart was still racing from the fright the pegasus gave her. She mentally kicked herself. _How did I get caught off guard by such a noisy Pegasus?_

"You could at least learn how to keep your nerves under control," the pegasus retorted. "Imagine what would happen if I _really_ was trying to scare you."

"Sunset!" Twilight said sharply before Sunset could give a biting response. "Just apologize!"

"As if!" Sunset grumbled. " _She's_ the one who snuck up on me! She's the one who should be apologizing!"

"Geez!" The pegasus crossed her hooves in annoyance. "Fine. I'm sorry for terrifying you into a fiery rage with my friendly question. Happy?" she asked with a roll of her eyes.

Sunset merely growled in response, but Twilight prodded her side and tilted her head to indicate the crowd of ponies around them. The townsponies were watching the confrontation with interest, but not with any open hostility, yet. Sunset knew better than to openly fight without good reason, especially when she was in a possibly unfriendly environment. "Apology accepted," she said curtly. To Twilight and Spike she grunted, "Come on, let's go find some food." She stalked away from the colorful mare, with Twilight and Spike trailing behind her.

"Hold on a sec!" the pegasus exclaimed.

The three turned to look at her. "What do you want?" Sunset asked with narrowed eyes.

"Me, nothing," the pegasus replied. "I just know where you can find some great food for your empty bellies."

"You'll probably lead us to the most over-priced place in town," Sunset scoffed. "No thanks."

Twilight sharply jabbed the other unicorn's side. "What she means to say," Twilight said to the blue pegasus. "Is that we would be very grateful if you would lead us to a place to dine comfortably."

The pegasus laughed and rolled in the air. "You're a strange bunch," she said with a grin.

"Uh… thanks?" Twilight responded hesitantly.

The pegasus flew down so she was only just above the ground. "Name's Rainbow Dash. Fastest flier in Equestria!" she said as she stuck out a hoof.

Twilight shook the extended hoof firmly. "I am Lady Twilight Sparkle of the House of Star," she replied formerly with a polite bow of her head. "This is my assistant, Spike, and our companion—"

"Sunset," Sunset said brusquely. "Just Sunset." Twilight raised an eyebrow, but the orange unicorn gave a small shake of her head.

The pegasus watched the exchange curiously, but decided not to pry into their business. Instead, she starting flying away and called over her shoulder, "Hurry up, slowpokes! If your bellies get any louder, they'll hear you in Canterlot!"

* * *

Rainbow Dash took the traveling trio to a comfortable noodle restaurant. The food was more expensive there than at some of the other establishments the trio had passed on the way, which made Sunset suspect it was a tourist trap. However, Rainbow Dash introduced her to the townsponies who were eating there, assuring her that the restaurant was a popular place even among the locals. It didn't hurt that the owner of shop, a stallion by the name of Ramen, offered them a discount for being new to the area.

Soon enough, six bowls of noodles lay in front of the three ponies and dragon.

"Um… who are the other two bowls for?" Rainbow asked they each took a bowl.

Sunset slurped several mouthfuls of the steaming hot pasta down her throat before she responded. "Me," she said, before resuming slurping down the rest of the contents of her bowl.

Rainbow shot the other two a questioning look.

Spike shrugged. "This would make the second time I've seen her eat so much," he said. "And I've only known her for less than three days."

"Three days?" Dash echoed in surprise. "Wow, you guys must have hit off really well."

Spike thought back to his multiple interactions with Sunset. "Not really," he replied. "We actually just got roped into going on some crazy adventure to find the Ele—"

Twilight plugged a hoof into his mouth as she flashed Dash a nervous smile. "We're looking for some old, magical things," she said. "You've probably never heard of them."

"Uh-huh," said Rainbow Dash dubiously as she raised an eyebrow.

Sunset sighed contently as she put down an empty bowl. "We're looking for a pony who lives in this town who's very magical and may be a unicorn," she said as she grabbed another bowl of noodles in her hooves.

" _May_ be a unicorn?" Dash echoed. "You don't know?"

"Not really," Twilight replied hesitantly. "We're on a scavenger hunt of sorts."

"A scavenger hunt?" Rainbow Dash asked skeptically as she raised an eyebrow.

Twilight nodded.

Dash shrugged. "Well, I'm afraid I can't help you too much there," she replied. "I only moved here less than a year ago, and I can't say I know anypony who's very 'magical'. All I can say is that the unicorn population here is smaller than you would expect from a Fire Empire town."

Spike stood in his seat looked around the shop, and then looked through the windows to see the streets outside. At least half of the ponies he could see were earth ponies; pegasi weren't uncommon, and there was a noticeable lack of unicorns. "I see what you mean," he as he sat back down.

"We're not limited to unicorns," said Sunset. "We just need to find a very magical pony. That's it."

"Well in that case, I hope you're talking about innate magic," Dash replied.

"It's not like there's another kind of magic for non-unicorns," Sunset said with an eye roll as she set down another empty bowl. "Innate magic is the only type of magic that exists in a roughly equal balance among the three pony races. It provides unicorns their ability to cast spells, pegasi their ability to fly, and earth ponies their connection to the earth."

"I know that," the blue mare said with a huff as she crossed her hooves. "No need to go all textbook on me. Do you think I'm dumb or something?"

"No, I merely think you value brawn over brains," Sunset replied evenly.

Dash snorted. "Don't think you can rile me up that easily," she said. "I've shrugged off worse insults than that."

"Looks like I'll have to step up my game," Sunset said with a smirk.

"Sunset, could please not antagonize everypony you meet?" Twilight asked in exasperation. To the Rainbow Dash she said, "I must apologize on her behalf, she tends to rub ponies the wrong way."

"And dragons!" Spike added.

"I'm right here you know."

"No problem," Dash told Twilight breezily. "I've had plenty of experience dealing with smart-mouthed ponies."

"You'd better watch your own mouth!"

"Also," Dash continued, ignoring Sunset's threat. "You should probably lose the fancy noble talk. It draws _way_ too much attention in a town like this. This is a quiet little town, but you're still a magnet for trouble if you don't learn to blend in."

"I see," said Twilight slowly. "I will do my best to blend in."

"You couldn't blend in here if you lived in this dump for a year," said Sunset. "You walk and talk like a pampered noble!"

"Are you calling my town a dump?" Rainbow asked with narrowed eyes.

"Yes."

"Sunset!" Twilight hissed as she looked around the restaurant. "Not a good time!"

Sunset surveyed the surrounding ponies who were giving her the evil eye. "But I thought honesty was the best policy," she said with an innocent smile.

"Are you kidding me?" asked Spike. "This town is awesome! The place is homey, the ponies are friendly, and best of all, the food's great! I need another bowl of these noodles!" To his relief, the surrounding ponies began drifting back to whatever they were doing,

However, Sunset did not want to let the subject drop. "Difference in opinion, lizard."

"I'm a dragon!"

"Could've fooled me."

"Spike! Sunset!" Twilight interrupted them. "If we're done eating, can we please move on? We've got a pony to find!"

"But I really do want another bowl of noodles!" Spike protested.

"Fine, you can go ask for another helping of noodles," said Twilight. Spike leapt from his chair and dashed away. Twilight turned to her remaining companion. "Sunset, could you check the map to see if we can narrow down our search a bit?"

"Not while we're in mixed company," said Sunset as she eyed Rainbow Dash distrustfully.

The pegasus shrugged. "Eh, whatever. I've got work to do anyway. See you around!" Rainbow Dash leapt from her seat and spiraled through an open window. Then she took off into the sky, leaving a blast of wind and an ethereal rainbow trail in her wake.

Twilight gaped at the display of speed. "She's fast," she commented in awe.

Sunset shrugged. "She's a pegasus. They're supposed to be fast," she said indifferently. She looked at her three empty bowls of longingly, debating whether or not to give up her pride to ask for more.

"Is it that difficult for you to be nice to other ponies?" Twilight asked in exasperation as she banged her face against the table.

"I find myself to be very agreeable pony," Sunset replied without removing her eyes from the bowls.

"I think your definition of agreeable is a century out of date," Spike commented as he returned to the table with another bowl of noodles. Sunset's mouth watered and she instinctive stuck out a hoof, but Spike swatted her hoof away. "If you want more noodles you'll have to get your own bowl," he said harshly before tipping his head back taking a large gulp.

"What's stopping me from taking it?" Sunset asked with a malicious grin as her horn started to glow.

"Sunset, the map," Twilight reminded her.

Sunset rolled her eyes and let the spell die. "Fine," she grumbled. She quickly scanned the other customers in the restaurant suspiciously, but she found that nopony was paying attention to them. Satisfied, she slipped the map out of her saddlebag and looked at the glowing dot. "Do we have a modern map to compare it to?" she asked.

Spike dropped his bowl, opened Twilight's saddlebag, and stuck his head and arms inside. "It's so roomy in here!" he exclaimed, his voice slightly muffled. He retracted from the bag with a scroll in his claws. "Here we go; one modern map of the Fire Empire!"

Sunset yanked the scroll from his claws, sending him tumbling to the ground. She unrolled the scroll and set it down next to her map. She and Twilight examined it carefully and silently as Spike dusted himself off.

Twilight sighed and rubbed her forehead with a hoof. "I wish your map was bigger, Sunset," she finally said. "According to the map's scale, the dot takes up the area of the town plus the surrounding area. We're no closer to finding where the pony."

Sunset carefully examined the two maps. "No, we are closer," she stated. "Not by much, but it's better than nothing."

"What do you mean?" Spike asked as he climbed onto the table for a better look at the map. "The dot isn't small enough for us to even guess where the pony is in this town."

"But it does tell us that the pony is not outside of the East Steel Town, or even on the border," said Sunset. "It's hard to tell due to the size of the scales, but the pony we're looking for should be around the central area of this town. That narrows down our search considerably."

"But how are we going to know who it is?" Spike asked. "Last time I checked, you were pretty touchy about others touching your map."

"Only when they've got little knives growing on their hooves," said Sunset growled.

"I don't have hooves!" Spike protested.

"Who said I was talking about you, moron?"

Twilight, who had been staring at the two maps in thought, suddenly sprang to her hooves. "I think I know a way to narrow down the search!" she exclaimed.

"How?" Sunset asked dubiously.

Twilight magically lifted a book from her saddlebag and opened it up to a passage. "Of these elements, five are known: laughter, kindness, generosity, loyalty, and honesty. The sixth is a mystery," she read.

Sunset and Spike stared at her blankly.

"Don't you see?" Twilight asked them. "Since this map is somehow related to the elements of harmony, each pony the map indicates must also be related to the elements. I wouldn't be surprised if the map is trying to find one pony per element, and that each pony that it finds has a special connection to their element."

"But the Elements of Harmony are ancient magical artifacts," said Spike. "How could anypony have a connection to them?"

"Twilight could be onto something," Sunset mused. "It's a bit of a long shot, but maybe the artifacts are powered by the traits they're named after."

"That makes sense," said Twilight thoughtfully. "So if we find the ponies with those traits—"

"We will be able to use the Elements—" Sunset continued excitedly.

"To defeat—" Twilight suddenly realized that the few remaining ponies in the restaurant were staring at them. "Uh… perhaps we should go," she said nervously as she looked around.

Sunset shook her head. "That would make us even more suspicious," she said knowingly. "Just act normal."

"Normal, yes. Normal. I'm perfectly normal. Not planning treason or trying to save Equestria or anything…"

As Twilight continued her muttering her ramblings, Sunset discreetly scanned the shop. A young couple a few tables from them had dived back into their conversation. Three old earth pony mares kept stealing glances at Twilight's erratic behavior and loudly whispered among themselves. An old stallion stared at his empty bowl of noodles. Ramen was lounging behind the counter, staring out the window. Sunset was relieved that no pony had tried to slip out unnoticed, but she still remained alert as she resumed the conversation. "So if I understand what you're saying, we should look for a pony who is extremely funny, kind, generous, loyal, or honest?"

Twilight snapped out of her frantic trance. "Oh, y-yes, exactly," Twilight stammered. "That will narrow our search by quite a bit."

"But that's still going to be a lot of ponies," Spike pointed out. "Not to mention, some of those traits are going to be really hard to find. How are we supposed to know if a pony is loyal or honest?"

"We ask around," said Sunset decisively. _If the Elements are powered by the traits mentioned in the book, then the ponies we're looking for would be quite well-known for said traits, especially in a small town like this. How hard could it be to find one pony with one of these traits?_

* * *

"Sorry, dearie, but that pretty much describes everypony in town," the elderly earth pony mare told Sunset. "I'm afraid I can't help you there."

Sunset bit back a sharp reply as she gave the pony a polite but curt nod. When the mare had closed the door, the unicorn stormed off to meet Twilight and Spike, who had been visiting ponies on the next street.

"Any luck?" Spike asked as Sunset stormed towards them.

"Take a guess, bonehead," Sunset growled.

Spike rolled his eyes at the insult, but was to tired to snap back a reply.

"We've also been also been unsuccessful," said Twilight. She sighed. "Onto the next neighborhood, I guess."

Sunset shook her head. "It's getting late," she said as she tilted her head to indicate the position of the sun in the sky. The sun was already lowering in the west, but to Sunset, it only felt like evening. "If we keep this up, ponies we'll think we have less than favorable intentions, knocking on doors when the sun's down."

Twilight sighed again. "I guess we'll have to retire for the night," she said reluctantly. "You wouldn't have happened to know of any inns in the area, would you?"

Sunset stared at Twilight with a deadpan look on her face. "This town wasn't even around during my time, remember?"

"Uh, yeah, I forgot," Twilight said sheepishly. "Spike?" she asked the baby dragon hopefully.

"This town is so small it doesn't even have a brochure," he replied with a shake of his head. "I'm stumped."

Sunset's stomach growled. "Great," she grumbled. "One more thing to add to our list of troubles."

"How are you still hungry?" Spike asked incredulously. "You ate three bowls of noodles for lunch!"

"Using sunlight as a power source makes me hungry for some reason," Sunset replied with a shrug. "Don't ask."

"Does anypony remember the way back to that noodle place?" Twilight asked her companions. Her stomach growled. "Actually, any place would do."

Sunset shrugged. "I didn't pay attention when we were wandering around, and I'm not sure if anywhere would even be open at this time."

"How about we ask her?" Spike suggested, pointing a claw towards the sky. Sunset and Twilight looked up to see a familiar rainbow maned pegasus collecting light grey clouds overhead.

"No," said Sunset firmly.

"Why not?" Spike asked.

"Because she's more annoying than you."

"Hey!"

"Sunset!"

"What? He is!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are you three out of your minds?"

Twilight, Sunset, and Spike jumped back in surprise when Rainbow Dash stuck her head in between them. Just like before, Sunset immediately sent a blast of fire from her horn, and once again, the pegasus managed to dodge out of the way without so much as her mane getting singed.

"Don't do that!" Sunset hissed.

"You're the ones who are making so much noise so late in the day," the pegasus responded. "Seriously, do you want to get in trouble with the night guards?"

"What kind of trouble?" Sunset asked.

Rainbow Dash looked the unicorn in the eye. "You're kidding, right?" she asked in deadpan.

"Actually, I'm not sure what you're talking about either," Twilight confessed. "What kind of trouble are you talking about?"

Dash facehoofed. "Of course they don't enforce the rules on nobility," she muttered under her breath. "Look, in case you've been living under a rock—or a palace, same thing—I'll spell it out for you. It's against the law to cause disturbances or engage in disorderly behavior during the hours of The Queen's glorious night. Any pony found disrupting the peace of the night except for celebrative affairs is susceptible to be punished by law." She said this in a monotonous voice; as if she had heard the words so many times that it was burned into her memory. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some clouds set up before… oh, ponyfeathers!" While she had been talking, the sun had drifted from the sky completely. Already the moon was rising and the stars were shining brightly overhead.

"Why were you moving the clouds around?" Twilight asked as the pegasus said some choice words under her breath.

"I'm one of the local weather pegasi," Dash replied with a grumble. "It was on shift for the weather today, but I lost my list of assignments sometime this afternoon. It was only when I was clocking out a few minutes ago that I learned that I was supposed to set up some light rain clouds for a shower later tonight. Though I still don't see why the night shift pegasi can't get their own stupid clouds," she muttered angrily.

Sunset looked across the sky. "I don't see any other pegasi," she said. "Can't you just finish the job before they come?"

Dash snorted. "Nope, the night guards would notice if I was working this late, and they would tattle to my boss that I had waited until the last possible moment to get my job done," she said bitterly. "Best thing I can do is leave the sky how it is, that way all they can complain about is how poor of a weatherpony I am."

"Why would the night guards do something like that?" Spike asked incredulously.

"They get paid to report other ponies," Rainbow Dash reminded him. "What else would you expect?"

Twilight felt a stab of pity for the pegasus. "We're so sorry for distracting you from your job," she said regretfully. "Perhaps we could make it up to you—"

Dash held up a hoof and shook her head. "Thanks, but no thanks," she replied. "I did nothing that needs repaying."

"At least let me write you a check or something—"

"Oh, I can imagine the look on everypony's face when I cash a check from a rich noble," said Dash sarcastically as she rolled her eyes. "I'd be laughed out of the bank for even trying. Or worse, they'd lock me up in prison for attempting a forgery."

"But it's authentic!" Twilight protested.

"Doesn't matter unless you're the type of pony a noble would actually talk to," Dash replied. "A simple weatherpony who lives in the middle of nowhere can't cash a check from pretty much any pony that's wealthy enough to even need a checkbook. That's the way the world works."

Sunset frowned. "This is wrong," she said.

"That's life for you."

"No," Sunset replied with a shake of her head. "This is… corrupt."

"Really? I didn't notice!" Dash said drily. "Are you two really thick or are you just asleep on your hooves?"

"I think we're all just a little tired," Twilight said as a half-truth. Sure enough, Spike had already fallen asleep on her back. "You wouldn't happen to know where we could find an inn around here, would you?"

"Most places are closed by now," Dash replied with a shake of her head. "Since this is a small town with a large city just a few hours walk from here, few ponies actually stay to spend the night."

"Oh…" said Twilight dejectedly. "Looks like we'll be roughing it, you don't mind, do you, Sunset?"

The other unicorn shrugged. Her face was furrowed in deep thought, and she was only half-listening to everything Twilight and Rainbow Dash were saying.

"I would offer you to stay at my house," said Rainbow Dash. "But I live on a cloud. Sorry."

"Cloud-walking spell," Sunset responded automatically.

"What?" Dash asked, dumbfounded.

"I know a spell that allows ponies to walk on clouds like pegasi," said Sunset, who was suddenly feeling exhausted from the day's events. Although she had been perfectly fine a few minutes ago, she was now having trouble keeping her eyes open. "It wears off after three days, but we're not planning to stay in town for that long."

"They have a spell for walking on clouds like pegasi?" Dash asked incredulously. "What will unicorns think of next?"

"I've never heard of a spell like that," Twilight confessed.

Sunset wordlessly called on her magic and cast the spell on herself, Twilight, and Spike. "We can now walk on clouds. I'll teach you how to cast in the morning or something," she mumbled. "Just get me to a bed." Her hunger was now a dull ache in the back of her mind, while the remaining ounce of strength in her was dedicated solely to finding a place to sleep.

"Looks like somepony's not a night owl," said Rainbow Dash with an amused grin. "Come on, my house is this way. I hope you aren't scared of heights though."

* * *

As usual, Sunset woke up with the sun. She blinked and squinted as she looked at her surroundings. Everything around her was white and fluffy, as if it was made out of clouds. And something was missing…

Sunset rolled out of bed and landed on the fluffy white floor. "Where's the ink?" she mumbled as she stumbled to her feet. "The books? The papers?" All of the familiar scents she was used to awaking to were gone. "Where am I?"

"Keep it down," Spike mumbled. Sunset turned around. On the bed she had just rolled out of, Spike and Twilight lay sleeping peacefully. Or, half asleep, in Spike's case.

 _I actually shared a bed with them!_ Sunset thought in disgust. _Gross!_

Miffed, Sunset exited the room and searched for the nearest bathroom she could find. Once she found it, she settled down in the tub and began filling it up for a warm bath. To her surprise, when the water reached her hooves, she found that it was ice cold. "Starswirl's Beard!" the unicorn swore as she jumped out of the tub to escape the frigid water. As the tub continued to fill, she gently swirled her hooves in the water, using her firebending to heat the water up to a reasonable temperature. Once the tub was full, she lied down and prepared to stay in there for a very, very long time.

Unfortunately for her, only minutes passed before somepony came knocking on the door. "Hey! I've only got one bathroom in this place, so don't hog it all morning!"

Even though Sunset's head was as dull as lead due to the steam, she managed to recognize the muffled voice of the rainbow maned pegasus that had allowed them to stay at her house. With a sigh, Sunset decided that she would have to save her hot tub experience for another day. She quickly cleaned herself and let the tub drain. When she finally opened the door, she found that the other three occupants had been waiting patiently outside. Twilight and Rainbow Dash had messy bed manes, and Spike still looked half-asleep. As Sunset moved out of the doorway, Twilight and Spike tried to step into the bathroom, but their host zipped over their heads and slammed the door shut.

"Hey!" Spike exclaimed, alertness suddenly jumping to his face. "That's not how you're supposed to receive guests!"

"I slept on the couch," Dash responded from behind the door. "I don't know how you nobles have it, but I need a quick soak after a bad night's sleep."

Sunset didn't waste her time hearing Spike's reply. Instead, she grabbed her small saddlebag from the room she had spent the night in, and then made her way to the kitchen. She pulled out a loaf of bread from Rainbow Dash's pantry and a knife from the counter. She also opened the fridge and took out a large slab of soft yellow goodness. By the time Dash, Twilight, and Spike had showered and dried, Sunset was already biting into her fourth slice of thickly buttered, well-done toast.

"You have a water problem Rainbow Dash," Spike complained as he opened the fridge in search for food. "The water was freezing, and it ran out before the tub was even deep enough for me to wade in."

"Wade in?" Rainbow Dash echoed incredulously. "You were expecting to take a bath in it?"

"Well, yeah." Spike scratched of his head. "What's wrong with that?"

Dash looked at Sunset and Twilight with horror evident on her face. "You two didn't take baths, did you?"

Twilight shook her head. "I was going to, but the water was much too cold," she replied. "I took a quick shower instead."

Sunset remained silent, absentmindedly chewing on her piece of toast.

"Sunset?"

"Hm?"

"You didn't take a bath, did you?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Yes," Sunset replied calmly as she shoved the rest of the toast into her mouth. "I had to heat the water though. I think you have a problem with your plumbing." Sunset missed the shocked expression the pegasus' face as she took another slice of bread and charred it with the flick of her hoof.

"Grubby, spoiled, featherbrained nobles!" Rainbow Dash shouted angrily. "You can't just go ahead and waste water like that!"

"Waste water?" Twilight asked in confusion. "The public water system is highly inexpensive and contains more than enough water for the four of us to have comfortable baths with."

Rainbow Dash pulled at the ends of her short mane. "Would take a look at the floor you idiots!" she hissed. "You're on a cloud. Clouds float. The public water system doesn't extend to floating houses! I have to pay to have rainclouds delivered for my water!"

"Then why did you bother to have your house in the air?" Sunset asked as she slathered a thick helping of butter on her smoking toast. "Ground houses are much more popular anyway."

"I had to build this house from scratch!" Dash exclaimed. "My dad and I spent weeks getting the right clouds, and then I had to buy all of the furniture and stuff with my own money! You wouldn't know since you're rich and all, but normal ponies like me don't get to have everything they want or need. It's not like I can just buy the house of my dreams or afford to have luxuries like heated water! Everything you see here is the result of actual work, including all my food!" This was direct to Sunset, who was already attempting to cut another slice of bread even though she still had a half-eaten slice levitating in front of her.

Sunset reluctantly put the knife and loaf down. "Don't worry, Twilight can reimburse you," she said through a mouthful of crisp toast.

"I already told you, I can't cash a check from a noble!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

"Actually, I do have some bits on me," Twilight admitted. "I may have forgotten to mention that last night."

Dash's eyes narrowed. "How many bits we're talking about here?" she asked suspiciously.

"I'll check!" Spike exclaimed as he dashed back into the bedroom. A few seconds later, he came back with a small sack that jingled as he walked.

"Well, I guess that would do it," Rainbow Dash admitted. "But I would feel bad taking all of your on hoof bits. It's not a good idea to go through towns without at least some bits on you."

"Don't worry," said Twilight reassuringly. "I have plenty." Rainbow Dash looked skeptical, but Twilight only smiled and nodded towards Spike.

The baby dragon tilted the bag and began pouring out bits from it. To Rainbow Dash's surprise, the amount of bits that piled out were much more than could be actually fit into such a small bag. "What? How?" she asked, dumbfounded.

Twilight waited until Spike had dumped out the last of the bits before replying. "I cast a spell to expand the amount of space inside the bag," she explained. "It allows me to carry a sackful of bits in only a small moneybag. Fascinating, isn't it?"

The pegasus could only stare at the mountain of gold coins that lay in the center of her kitchen table. "This is more bits than I've ever seen in my life," she confessed breathlessly.

Sunset snorted. "You're not getting all of it you know," she pointed out.

"I know that!" Dash snapped. "It's just… so beautiful…"

Twilight levitated a small pile of bits towards the pegasus. "This should be enough for our food and board, correct?" she asked.

Rainbow Dash snatched the coins greedily. "Oh, this should do nicely," she said with a sinister smirk. 'Though, if you wanted to through in a little extra I'd be fine with that too."

Twilight frowned.

Rainbow Dash laughed jovially as she hovered off the ground. "I'm just messing with you," she assured Twilight. "This is more than enough bits to cover the bills, which is really convenient for me, because those money-grubbers will be knocking on my door tomorrow." She dashed off to her bedroom.

"Want some breakfast?" Sunset asked Twilight and Spike suddenly. She chopped another slice of bread from the loaf. "I make excellent toast."

Twilight and Spike shook their heads vigorously.

Sunset shrugged. "Suit yourselves," she said as she roasted the bread with a small flick of her hoof.

* * *

Rainbow Dash's house was almost two dozen feet above the ground, but with a combination of levitation and pegasus flight, the three wingless travelers managed to safely reach the ground floor.

"Looks like it's time for us to check the rest of the houses," Sunset whispered to Twilight. "I checked the map; the pony we're looking for is still in town."

Twilight nodded. Then she turned to Rainbow Dash and said, "I hope we'll be seeing each other soon."

"You're still looking for that pony, aren't you?" the blue mare asked. Twilight nodded. "Well then, you'll probably be seeing a whole lot more of me. I'm probably in so much trouble right now that I'll have to spend the entire day working to make for last night's blunder."

Twilight looked crestfallen. "Again, we're sorry for distracting you from your job—"

Rainbow Dash held up a hoof. "You already apologized," she said. "Besides, I don't mind taking a small bit of loss for my friends."

"Friends?" Twilight and Spike echoed in surprise.

Sunset raised an eyebrow at this.

"Yeah, you spent the night at my place, and you're all pretty cool, so I consider you all to be my friends," the pegasus said with a grin. "Even you, Mrs. Grumpypants."

Sunset grunted in response.

"That's… really nice of you," said Spike.

"It's nothing," said Rainbow Dash with a shrug.

"But you'll be in trouble for helping us," said Twilight.

"I told you, we're cool. We're friends."

Twilight's face scrunched up in confusion. "But you barely knew us before, and you still don't know us very well now."

"Don't expect a repeat performance," said Sunset. "She probably only did it because you were a noble and she was looking for a few bits."

"No," said Rainbow Dash irritably. "I wanted to help simply because I wanted to."

"Yeah, right," said Sunset with a snort.

Rainbow Dash sighed. "You really don't get it do you?" she asked. "Well, it looks like I have to spell it out for you." She struck a dramatic pose in the air and loudly proclaimed, "I'm Rainbow Dash! Fastest flier in Equestria! And everypony knows that I'd never leave my friends hanging!" At that moment, a bright red glow shone from Sunset's saddlebag.

"Impossible!" Sunset exclaimed.

Rainbow Dash's eyes were drawn to the light. "What is that?" the pegasus asked curiously.

"The map!" Twilight and Spike exclaimed at the same time.

"Huh?"

Sunset levitated the brown parchment out of her bag. By now, the light was already fading away. When the light had completely faded, they could see that one of the images on the border had changed. The gem that had been in the middle of the top border was gone, and a red lightning bolt rested in its place. "She didn't even touch the map," said Sunset in awe.

"Hello?" Rainbow Dash waved her hooves in the air. "Will somepony mind explaining what happened?"

Twilight looked at Sunset, who nodded in approval. "Well, you see," Twilight began as she gave a quick summary of everything that had happened in the past four days. She explained her botched spell, Sunset's mission, and the importance of the map and its symbols. Rainbow Dash followed along attentively, only interrupting for the occasional clarification.

After Twilight had finished, Sunset said, "My destiny is to defeat The Queen and make Equestria the place it once was. I'm not sure what part you play in achieving that goal, but the map is clearly saying that you are important to this cause." She looked at Rainbow Dash in the eye. "Are you ready to join us on this mission?"

Rainbow Dash looked back at Sunset evenly. "No," she said flatly. Then she took off for the skies, leaving an ethereal rainbow trail in her wake.

* * *

 **Whelp.**

 **That happened.**

 **One Element of Harmony isn't so gung-ho about this.**

 **Something better happen, or else this story is going to be very, very short.**

 **'Till next time!**

 **-RainEStar**


End file.
